Readily Accessible Harvests
by Puck.HS
Summary: A remarkably open minded and altruistic Saito Hiraga lands in a universe of magic and wonder, fully prepared for an adventure of magic and wonder, only to find that the level of magic and wonder aren't quite up to standard. So instead of researching the (barely) arcane mysteries of the new dimension, he decides to fix the horribly antiquated world of feudal society he's been given.


He could admit it. Curiosity had gotten the better of him. But who could resist the alluring temptations of a sickly green glowing portal? Certainly not him. Now he was hurtling off to who knows where. And while the prodding of a mysterious rip in space was almost instinctual, and left him with little time to really wonder about what he was doing, the thoughts he was having now was hardly rushed - who knew travel in impossible anomalies was so calm and relaxing? The feeling of being without mass and the subtle whispers of a desperate girl could tickle just about anyone's fancy. Well, if anyone was like him, that is.

And just like anyone, Saito Hiraga, Japanese teen extraordinaire, pondered about his current situation with the startling intelligence of, well, a teenage boy, all while coasting along at speeds unknown to man as if he was reclining by the beach. But for all his bluster in trying to keep a cool demeanor, he was excited beyond measure at the fact that this might be his chance to enjoy something new and strange. Subconsciously, he dream-checked himself, a habit that remained from his days of trying to control his thoughts during sleep.

Could he remember what happened prior to the situation he was in now?

Yes - he was leisurely walking back home after a day of worthy public education.

Could he see his own reflection?

No - possibly because there was no convenient source of reflective surfaces whilst traveling between dimensions.

Was what he was looking at real? Does it seem to shift in and out of existence?

Lacking an object to which he could pose these questions, he merely stared at his hand, attempting to will upon it the illogical manifestations of the dream world.

Nothing.

No _Eureka!_ moment. No distortions in his thinking. Nothing strange other than the multiples of whatever-you-called-its shifting and twirling just beyond his grasp, creating a wall between his space-time transporter and the merciless emptiness of nothingness.

Not one to second-guess himself (at least, whilst speeding along at dimensions per second), Saito took this at face value - he was not dreaming, and however improbable and impossible this was, it was happening. He arrived at this realization just as he was unceremoniously plopped onto the plane of living, mortal men - where green grass tickled his hands and a castle towered above him. The juxtaposition between where he was seconds ago and where he was now made him laugh internally. Various girls and boys and all manners of mythical beasts, ranging from one spectrum of the rainbow to the other, dressed up as if they were straight out of a school of witchcraft and wizardry.

And right in front of him was possibly the most endearingly cute person he had ever seen. Never mind the expression combining both surprise, relief, confusion, and frustration... the pink hair, the blasphemously short skirt, the doll-like face - all of it impressed upon him a desire to pick her up and hug the life out of her. But alas, Saito's false sense of bravado and gentlemanly demeanor would not allow him. Why not start off this story with a bit of song and dance? And so he picked himself off the ground and bowed a bow so perfect that it would have won him applause at the stiffest of all concert halls.

"How do you do?"

Sadly, for all his effort, he was awarded with prompt and unfiltered laughter from the dozens that constituted his audience.

"You've really surpassed all our expectations as the _Zero_, Louise! Summoning a common performer from off the streets as your "noble familiar!" This is priceless!" The buxom red-head turned to the pink haired sorceress standing in front of Saito and continued to jeer at her in a rather mean spirited manner. "At least he wasn't turned into a corpse by the mess you call magic!"

But Louise, in all her feisty righteousness, was beyond being affected by her rival's taunts in this.

A failure is a failure is a failure is a failure. But she was progressing, Only moments ago, the only thing that came from her incantations were dust-explosions. If she kept trying, she reasoned, her familiar could only improve. And so she chanted again the words which she studied furiously weeks and weeks before, ignoring her previous result just like her last attempt.

"Oh Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers! I beseech thee, grant me-"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Ms. Valliere - the Familiar Summoning calls for only one successful attempt until such that you require a replacement." The experienced wizard standing off to the side warned her, firmly grasping her shoulder to stop her wand-work.

It seemed as though that, while beyond being affected by Kirche's inflammatory teasing, she was nevertheless able to be stopped by her professor.

"Please, Professor Colbert, a commoner for a familiar? I could hire a servant if I needed a lowly peasant! You have to let me try again!"

"My sincere apologies, but I cannot let you go against the traditions set by the Founder Brimir, regardless of what manner of being you summon. Please remember that this is an achievement in and of itself! There have been many disgraced nobles in history who were not able to call upon any aspect of magic, let alone being able to summon something through one of Brimir's own sacred spells."

Dejected, but finding a small amount of comfort from her professor's words, Louise resolved to continue the summoning, placing her hands upon the teen's rather average, but surprisingly healthy face, who at this moment in time, had decided that perhaps he should think more about his situation rather than being theatrical and ruining first impressions. It's not like he could do much to intrude upon the conversation being taken place in front of him in a foreign language without their attention. So it comes as no surprise that, lost in his embarrassment and regret, he couldn't voice a complaint in an expeditious way, especially against a female who had just recently reaffirmed her resolve. An entirely believable excuse.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and bind him as my familiar."

The chaste kiss did little to arouse him, but the burn that came from his right hand certainly jerked his mind to attention. A bright light was quite literally burning stereotypically magical looking insignia onto his skin, eliciting a pained gasp from a relatively average guy who had never quite felt such levels of pain. The kiss all but forgotten, Saito collapsed to his knees, instinctually grabbing at his burning hand in an attempt to hold back or mitigate the pain.

Relief came to him as he abruptly blacked out as the combination of magically induced pain and magically induced contractual obligations burned itself into the core of his being.


End file.
